Saturday, February 11, 2012

What is the name of a vine with orange flowers and something that looks like a red sugar baby?

The "red sugar baby"...like a seed pod? An orange flowering vine that's really common in the US is campsis (trumpet vine). The flowers are a very bright shade and are 2 to 3 inches long and trumpet shaped. The vine has oblong, pointed leaves along stems like a walnut tree's leaf structure. The vine is extremely hardy and invasive. It also can cause skin irritation, similar to that caused by poison ivy, in sensitive individuals.

What is the name of a vine with orange flowers and something that looks like a red sugar baby?I think you may be talking about Oriental Bittersweet, an invasive vine. The problem, from Rhode Island Wild Plant Society (and any ecologist!), is:

"Birds and people who compost or collect the fruits for dried arrangements have enhanced its escape from cultivation. Once established in edge habitats and shrub lands Oriental Bittersweet can aggressively out compete native vegetation for space, water, and nutrients. It shades out native vegetation, and its twining action can also constrict tree stems, impeding sap flow and increasing vulnerability to wind damage. This species is particularly abundant in the coastal zone where it is a dominant plant on many islands in Narragansett Bay and Block Island. "

What you are describing, by the way, though it looks like a flower, is actually the seed. The second link, to the Nature Conservancy, has a great photo. It also warns:

"Oriental bittersweet is on the Class C list of noxious weeds in North Carolina and it is illegal to sell or distribute it as a living plant, or as a decorative one. If you see violations of this law, alert the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (919-733-3610 x246)."

Might want to keep this in mind!Reply:I would take one of the pods and flower to your local nursery and ask them. They love giving answers to this type of thing plus they can tell you how to keep it in check so it doesn't take over everything in the garden or where ever it is. thats what they get paid to do...........good luckReply:I think yazmin has the right answer. greenhouse grunt was close but didn't pay attention to all the details you listed. Eradicate that invasive plant and do it quickly. CLip it and burn it to prevent seeds from getting away. Herbicide drench the root zone.Reply:More info would be helpful. Type of flower shape, leaves alsoReply:sounds a little like what we call "Cow Itch" in the south.Reply:Sounds like "hearts abustin". A weedy plant.